


Morning Troubles

by Outfoxxing



Series: The Day of Wings [1]
Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance, The Day of Wings, Two Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-21
Updated: 2013-10-21
Packaged: 2017-12-30 00:42:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1011996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Outfoxxing/pseuds/Outfoxxing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud has wings. Sephiroth is perplexed. Angeal is calm. Zack is Zack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Morning Troubles

"Give me a break already …"

"Aww, don't worry Spiky! It'll all be gone by tomorrow, you'll see!"

"Tomorrow is too far away, I want it gone  _now_."

"There, there … I'll look after you!"

"Comforting, really."

Zack was perched on his knees near the large window facing North towards Sector Seven, stationed next to a little more than queasy Cloud. It was late afternoon, almost the time for twilight. The sun was bright and warmth washed over all Midgar gratefully. They had just returned from a mission to the snow-coated town of Nibelheim and to be back in Midgar was a God-send. Nothing much had occurred while being in Nibelheim – a few conflicts with monsters, but all minor, underrated brawls. Sephiroth and Angeal were downstairs (Genesis had been sent away on another mission) while Zack and Cloud occupied the spacious room that was Sephiroth's bedroom. The duo absent were figuring out how to make the appliances in the kitchen function (Sephiroth had ordered a new stove before leaving for the mission. Upon returning, they had found it set up and hadn't the foggiest on how to work it) – they simply refused to ask for help. "SOLDIER's" both of the youngsters had uttered, shook their heads and departed the room.

Moving around the luxurious apartment before settling in the bedroom, Cloud and Zack had planned to help the elder men prepare food when the young blond fell ill suddenly; waves of nausea and a burning temperature struck him. Accordingly, they moved to sit closer to the fresh air and a cooling breeze. Zack had even provided him with numerous theories on how to conquer the heat residing in his body, but none had proven fruitful. He merely groaned and complained heavily, lounging lethargically in one of the reclined seats. The moment he had sat down, all his energy had seemingly been zapped away.

"Why is it always me, Zack?" Cloud whined, arm across his face shielding his eyes.

Zack frowned, thinking deeply about the situation. "I don't know why Spiky. If I knew, perhaps I would be more of a help."

Cloud smiled faintly at his best friend. "You  _are_  helping Zack. You help by talking to me, distracting my thoughts. You know—chatter therapy."

Zack positively  **beamed**. He adored being helpful and being praised for his aid. And coming from a cute blond was always a bonus. "Yeah, I'm glad I could be of service." He even threw in a happy salute to the blond. "Are you feeling any better—uh—inside?" His tone held a hint of confusion laced with concern, his eyebrows furrowed gently.

Cloud grimaced. He had almost forgotten the aching sensations sprouting from his shoulder blades. It spread through the entity of his body; pulsating, like the pain was animate. "It was when I wasn't thinking about it." The Third Class gained a guilty expression, to which Cloud responded hastily. "No, no! It's not your fault. Maybe it's just all in my head or something."

"I doubt something as potent as you claim it to be is all in your head, Cloud," Zack frowned, glancing at the blond with a worried look. "Maybe I should go get Seph—"

"No!" Cloud said loudly, startling the other. "No, just—leave him out of it. He worries about enough things as it is."

Zack nodded, his expression unsure. "Well, if you insist. I think that if it gets any worse, you  _should_  tell him. He might be able to help."

"I don't know if he can help," Cloud muttered, switching his eyes to view the outside land. Guilt gnawed away at him like a ravenous monkey. "Go help Seph and Angeal with the kitchen, Zack. I promise you I will be okay. I'll tell you otherwise, alright?" he added with a smile, wiping away the frown brewing upon his friends features.

"Well … if you're sure Cloud," Zack said, contemplation clear in his tone. "Just call if you need me, okay?"

"Got it."

Zack smiled and nodded, satisfied with his answer. Rising to his feet, the dark-haired teen gave his friend a once over check before he made his leave, exiting through the bedroom door, shutting it behind him with a light  _click_. The blond remained where he was seated, gazing out at the afternoon sunshine. If there was one thing he feared as much as the dark, it was falling ill. Recalling his earlier years, he had been taken ill just before his father had. It gave him the irrational fright over someone falling ill from unexplained sources.

Rising slowly from the comfort of the chair, Cloud stepped unsteadily as sudden dizziness struck him. Placing a palm to his forehead and the other against the wall, he waited for the light-headed sensation to pass before attempting to move once more. He moved slowly, feet planted firmly on the floor before stepping again. Finally, he reached his destination – Sephiroth's bed. Once he had made sure contact, he flopped down less-than elegantly, head on the pillows, the rest of his body sprawled haphazardly across the majority of the poufy goodness. Pushing blond bangs from his face, he placed a palm flat on his forehead – only to remove it from the sudden shock of pain from the searing heat his skin produced.  _'What the—? Why do I feel so hot?'_  A burst of a prickling fiery sensation sprung forth, devouring his entire form.  _'I—I'm—so hot!'_

Sitting bolt upright, the blond kicked off his boots and made to remove his jacket. The day was warm to begin with, but this was ridiculous. He had never felt so hot before. With every intention of removing every article of clothing, he rolled off the bed to the plush carpeted flooring, clawing at his pants in order to remove them with haste. "Need to— _move_!" he breathed, hoping the whispers could help him in some way. But to no avail, he was left to fend for himself against the almost unbearable temperature. Trying again with renewed vigour to rid himself of clothing, he struggled to remove his short sleeved top completely before needing to roll over to a cooler spot.  _'What—in the name of Gaia—is **happening**?'_

He made to get to his feet, only to fail on his knees and fall sideways, panting for breath. "Sephiroth …"

* * *

"Come on, Seph. There must be something we are missing." Angeal scowled at the cooking appliance, as though glaring at it would magically force it to work. "Even Zack knows how to do this."

"If I knew, Angeal, this would be working already," Sephiroth growled, glancing sideways at the burly SOLDIER. "How does this irritating contraption function …?"

The duo had stared at and tinkered with the stove for the past half an hour with no progress – their only succession was to make the lights flicker on and off. Sephiroth's patience had whittled drastically thin and he was mere moments away from smashing the entire contraption with his beloved Masamune; the excuse somewhere along the lines of "It looked dangerous." Unfolding his arms, he stepped towards the blasted machine, intent on taking one last chance at making the thing work before exploding it with a well-timed ice blast, when Zack came prancing into the room, mind away at some daydream.

"Angeal!" The Third leapt forth and collided with Angeal, clinging to him happily. "How goes the cooking?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned his attention to Sephiroth, pale lilac irises shockingly serious. "Sephiroth, Cloud isn't—well, thing is, he told me not to tell you, but not telling you would make everything worse when you found out anyway, so, I think it is best to tell you, even though he told me not to, right?"

Sephiroth blinked, stared hard at Zack, and then blinked again. "… Right."

Zack nodded, uncaring on whether Sephiroth had followed him completely or not. "Right; Cloud isn't feeling well. He needs help but didn't want to tell you because he knew it would worry you, but not telling you would make you worry more—possibly annoyed or angry too—but he insisted which is why I waited until now to tell you." He breathed in and out. "So go to him!"

Sephiroth did not need telling twice. The moment Zack said the words "Cloud" and "not well" he had made his way out of the kitchen and towards his bedroom briskly, wanting to get to him with no time wasted. He power-walked along the hallway and turned into his bedroom, then stopped, his heart skipping a beat at the sight he saw. Cloud was curled up in a tight ball on the floor, his clothing seemingly shunned carelessly across the floor. He was naked – nothing but the bed-sheet pulled down off of the bed in an attempt to cover what little modesty he had. His entire form was trembling, as though he was cold, but the thought was negated from the fact that he was also coated in a layer of sweat. But, the thing that got him most, that made his heart jump from his chest in unrealistic concern for his wellbeing, was the way he looked at him. The sheer amount of pain and confusion in his eyes when he looked at him was heart-breaking. "S-Seph—"

The sound of his voice snapped Sephiroth from his stupor and he swooped in to the blond’s side, kneeling beside him, hands hovering over his form, unsure of how to help. What if moving him worsened him current condition? What if not moving him worsened it? He placed his hand gently on his arm, only to withdraw his appendage instantly at the scorching temperature of the contact. Cloud was burning up something terrible. "Cloud … I knew something was amiss with you … why did you not tell me before? I could've helped you, to prevent this."

"Suh—sorry—"

"No," he soothed. Standing abruptly, he quickly moved to the conjoined bathroom to his bedroom. The General took some towels and doused them in cool water. Once sufficiently moistened, he returned to the previous room and kneeled beside his burning blond. He placed a cool, wet towel on the pale skin, steam arising from the astounding temperature of the teen’s body. He began rubbing Cloud down with the towels, one at a time, attempting to sooth some of the blazing heat away. "Don’t apologise, Cloud. Just—let me know next time. That way, I can at least try to help you."

Cloud nodded nimbly, drawing himself closer in. It appeared as though he was attempting to make himself disappear by folding in on himself. Or trying to make whatever was causing him pain to vanish. Sephiroth sat there, continuing with his motions, unknowing of what to do next. He needed to cool him down, that was for certain, but he was in no condition to talk, let alone move. Therefore, he did not know what was causing him such agony and it tore him up inside learning that he could do nothing.

They sat like that for a while, the General rubbing his hands all over the young Cadet's fire pit of a form; him, shaking uncontrollably while sweating profusely. Sometime later, the shivering decreased and his temperature began to regulate. Sephiroth kept up his cooling methods, emotions alternating between relief, concern and fear. He was relieved that his condition was stabilising, but also concerned at why it was there in the first place, and fearful that it could sprout forth again unpredictably. He disliked it when his beloved blond was unwell – it worried him to no ends as he didn't fall ill easily – and practically despised it if his health plummeted like it was presently. They were going to have a serious talk in the morning, if his condition was better. 

 _'Why do you always do this to me, Cloud?'_  he thought, scanning him form with ghostly green hues.  _'You always do everything to the extreme—nothing is ever in-between with you, is it?'_

Cloud's trembles ceased completely, and though his temperature remained above average, it was satisfactory to indicate that he would be okay through the night. Sephiroth ceased rubbing the blond, discarding the towels to his side carelessly. He gingerly placed his hands upon the smaller form, his touch delicate, as though handling a fragile flower. His skin didn't burn him like before, but it still warmed him considerably. A light frown creased his features and he lightly pushed away the blond from his companions face. His expression softened at seeing him sleeping lightly, his troubles swept away by the delights of dreams. With a light sigh, the First strategically placed his arms underneath Cloud's slumbering form – one by his knees, the other supporting his back – and lifted him off of the floor. Standing upright with Cloud in his arms, Sephiroth carefully stepped towards the side of the bed and gently placed him on the bed with his head on a pillow. Backing away, he glanced about the room and found the duvet. Striding over to it, he picked it up, carried it to the bed and covered up his partner's naked form with it, preserving his modesty in the nick of time, as a knock came to the bedroom door.

Without being called in, the knocker pushed open the door to reveal Zack, with Angeal hovering slightly behind him. The young raven haired male squeezed his way past the slightly opened door and into the room, sight set on the form of Cloud immediately. Without looking at Sephiroth, he asked, "Is Cloud okay?" with wide eyes, curious and troubled.

Sephiroth didn't answer straight away. Instead, he moved to sit on the opposite side of the bed to the sleeping youngster, crossed legged and watchful over his companion. He ran a hand through his fine blond hair, stroking it affectionately. "… He will be fine. I'll make certain of that."

Zack's distressed demeanour was wiped clean, replaced with a bright, joyful smile, light purple eyes a beacon of hope that shone directly on Sephiroth. He was counting on him to make Cloud alright, a silent promise that needn't use words to express the depth of it. "Alright Seph! Angeal and I were worried but now we know that he will be fine, I'll sleep easier."

The taller of the dark-haired duo patted the shorter on the shoulder comfortingly, gaining his attention. "Come now, Puppy. Let the poor boy rest. We will see you in the morning, Sephiroth."  
Zack nodded happily and walked to the door, intent on making his departure. "Zack, wait." He paused, turning on the spot to face Sephiroth, who called out to him. He raised his gaze after a few moments and locked onto the form of the inquisitive teen, eyes hardened. "Did you know about this? Did he tell you to not inform me?"

Zack shifted in his stance – a clear sign of his nerves building slightly. "Cloud told me he felt sick for a while. He specifically told me to  _not_  tell you—but for good reasons! Just—don't be angry with him."  _'Or me!'_  His lurid lilac eyes were large and glossy. He hated it when he had to deceive one of his closest companions, necessarily done or not.

Sephiroth stared hard at him for a few seconds before the steely look to his eyes faded and they returned to looking over Cloud. "No, I'm not angry with you, Zack. Cloud and I shall be talking this over in the morning. Thank you for telling me. Now, if you would be so kind as to leave us …"

Zack nodded quickly, wiping away imaginary sweat from his brow. "Of course Seph! Just make sure you take good care of him! He seems to need it." And with him final words said, the Third made a hasty retreat.

Sephiroth watched the teen leave the room with a lingering gaze. Before long, piercing emerald orbs traced the room back to the comatose Cloud, a soft sigh emitting through parted lips. "What am I going to do with you, Cloud?"

* * *

The night passed quickly and in the early hours of the morning, Sephiroth had begun to snooze, his mind and body exhausted after spending the night watching over Cloud. Still sat upright, his head flopped to the left, leaning on his shoulder for support, light snores emitting from his lips. His mind was peaceful for once, carefree and warm. He dreamt of nothing but clouds – fluffy, white clouds. It was … pleasant. Although, when a slight diffusion appeared in one of the clouds, the dream began to darken. At first the degradation of the clouds was slow, but the pace quickened exponentially when he focused upon the depleting fluffiness. Then, a sharp, prodding sensation filled his conscience. It was rather annoying actually. It prodded, waited a few seconds, and then prodded again. He waved a hand at it, attempting to brush it away but to no avail. It persisted in its prodding, aggravating him more and more.  _"Stop it!"_  he wanted to yell, but his voice was silent.

The prodding continued without remorse. And then, as quick as it came, it stopped. Ceasing completely. This confused Sephiroth. And so were the clouds remnants. They were beginning to form odd shapes, almost like …

_'Bunnies? Why are clouds becoming bunnies?'_

The bunny clouds began to hop around Sephiroth, who gasped with astonishment at finding himself levitating high above the ground. He attempted to move, but found himself immobile; helpless to float in the air while bunnies danced around him, chirping and squeaking harmoniously. They circled him, hopping from one foot to another, when one jumped onto his lap suddenly. They stared each other down – Shin-Ra General to Clouded Bunny. It was intense, and he would not be the first to blink … The bunny’s nose wiggled and it suddenly grew hair – spiky blond hair, to be precise. Then wide, innocent sky blue eyes popped in place of its previously non-existent ones.

Sephiroth blinked.  _'Cloud? How did you become a rabbit?'_

"Eeep."

Sephiroth frowned.  _'Why am I talking to a rabbit? I really must be losing my mind.'_

A sudden tickle arose underneath his nose. The General made to wipe away the irritation, but only irritated it further. The more he tried to itch, the worse it became. The cloud bunny made no attempt to help satisfy his God-forsaken itch. No, it just sat there, staring at him with large, remarkably blue eyes. Sephiroth's expression was deadpanned.  _'Are you just going to sit there and witness my suffering?'_  A nose twitch.  _'Of course you are.'_

The rabbit bounced on to the General's head and began jumping up and down on it. The more it hopped, the more Sephiroth felt himself drop down, little by little. If it carried on, he would plummet to a messy death.  _'Stop that! I must insist you—'_  Too late.  _'Oh dear.'_

Sephiroth fell, the cloud bunny falling with him. He couldn't do anything but fall, like he was constricted by invisible ropes. He was falling, falling, falling …

 _Thud_. "Ouch."

Sephiroth was staring at the plush, obsidian carpet of his bedroom floor. He lay there for a moment to figure out what had happened, before pushing himself back up and on to his knees, grimacing slightly at the discomfort in his body from the fall. He had fallen from his bed while dreaming, he assumed, and made his way to return to said bed, when upon reaching for something to grasp, he found something rather … soft. Delightfully soft and delicate. Delicate and strong simultaneously. Almost … "Feathery?" He peered over at the bed. "Feathers? What is the meaning of this?"

The long haired SOLDIER rose to his feet slowly, lightly pulling back at the duvet while following the length of  _more_  feathers, expecting anything – when his mouth dropped open from what he did see.  _A pair of wings_. Long, beautiful, elegantly coloured in the means of pure white,  **wings**. His first thought was, however, somewhat different than what he perceived.  _'They are like an angels wings.'_  instead of  _'Why are they attached to Cloud?'_

He shook his head, dispelling any absurd thoughts and gazed thoroughly upon the blond's shoulder blades once again, just to ensure he wasn't seeing things. Nope. The wings were still there. Still attached to the bare back of his beloved. He rubbed vigorously at his temples, them pulsating from slight pain from a migraine that was occurring from his over thinking.  _'Just how did this happen? It isn't every day someone suddenly sprouts a pair of wings that resemble a Messenger from Gaia. I need to know—he needs to wake.'_

He walked around the bed and crouched in front of the sleeping blond. With his determination at an all-time high, he placed a hand lightly on the Cadet's shoulder – mindful of not kneeling on his feathery appendages (disregarding the fact that he was  **fascinated**  with them) and gently shook his companion awake. Pale eyelids fluttered until cobalt irises stared at him, somewhat clouded from sleep. Once they focused, a bright gleam of joy filled them, making them shine, with a light smile to accompany them. "Good morning Sephiroth."

"… Good morning, Cloud. How are you feeling?" he inquired, very carefully picking his words while keeping his gaze locked on Cloud's face, for now.  _Those_  questions would come a short while later.

Cloud yawned before rubbing his eyes with a balled up hand. "I feel much better, actually. Like yesterday was nothing but a bad dream." His content expression transformed into a frown as he studied Sephiroth. "Did you stay up all night watching me?"

Sephiroth waved a hand, dismissing the question. "I'm fine. Are you certain that nothing feels … different about you? Anything?"

Cloud shook his head, frown remaining. "Why? Did something happen?"

The General restrained a sweat drop, eyes flicking to the young blond’s new limbs. "… You could say that."

Cloud's frown deepened once more, and he followed the emerald line of sight. At first he saw nothing but white feathers and his confusion spiked. "Why is there …?" His voice trailed off at spotting the rest of the sheer whiteness abhorring the bed. "Feathers? How did they get here?" He turned slightly, and they moved with him. He stopped, they stopped.  _'They move with me?'_  That was when it struck him.  _'Oh my. They're **on**  me. What, in the name of Gaia, happened?'_ Memories flew through his mind as he attempted to piece together his little puzzle. A flash of golden eyes and a sinister smirk froze in him mind, blaring loud and clear.  _'Oh … shoot. This is what that did.'_

"… Cloud, are you aware that you have wings?" Sephiroth inquired, his tone the epitome of calm.

 _'I must not freak out. The result would be horrific. I must … keep … cool.'_  Cloud forced a false grin, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, yeah! They're fake! I got them on the trip to Nibelheim!"

A silvery eyebrow shot up in incredulity. "You purchased them? I don't recall seeing such a thing happen."

"Well, that's because Zack and Angeal kept you busy while I did it. I knew you'd just tease me about wanting them, so I asked the two of them to distract you.  _That's_  why you didn't see it," Cloud explained, his words never being further from the truth as then.

Sephiroth was unconvinced. He had felt the wings, and they felt  **real**. Not fake. "… Cloud—"

"Oh, look at the time! I have to shower! Mustn't dilly-dally, Seph! Another day of learning ahead of me!" The blond was speaking rapidly – if Sephiroth didn't have a knack of being able to understand almost any type of accent and pace of speech, he would have been lost. While blabbering on, he gathered up a blanket around him – he realised he had slept in the nude – and wrapped it securely about his form and over him head, blocking him new limbs from sight.  _'Out of sight, out of mind, after all!'_  "So yeah, I'm going to go shower first and you can have yours—uh—after! In a bit!"

With that, the blond departed the room and fled to the bathroom. Sephiroth was left with a look of bewilderment and a loss of words. He sat there for a little while, his expression wiped of all emotion except deep thought. The last time his companion had been so edgy with him was when he had provoked a sleeping behemoth into chasing them, but wouldn't admit he had done it.  _'So what has he done **this**  time? I am certain that he didn't purchase anything like that—Zack and Angeal didn't accompany us that day either. So what is he hiding?'_

There was only one way to find out – first hand experimentation. He had to know whether they were truly make-believe. "No more falsities."

Sliding off the edge of the bed, the silver haired SOLDIER made his way after his skittish partner. He knew exactly where to go – he always used the same facilities, the one joined to him room. Gingerly (he didn't want to startle the frivolous blond further) he slid open the door. There was no sign of movement so he pursued forward, sliding the door closed behind him. He stepped lightly; the tiled floor offered no stealthy movement with heavier forms.

The sound of falling water indicated that Cloud was already in the shower. The General slid through the partly opened door that separated the drying area from the bathing area, and quietly strode towards the independent shower in which his partner was washing. He could see the outline of his figure, and he was kneeling, rather than the normal standing position when showering. Deciding to make his presence known – he didn't want him complaining of perversion later – he cleared his throat and knocked on the clouded glass separating him from Cloud. The blond’s whole form visibly jumped and suddenly a pearlesant blond head poked out of the glass door, its usual gravity defying properties flattened against his head. "S-Seph? What're you doing in here?"

"I want the truth, Cloud, and I'm not leaving until I get it," the General said calmly, folding his arms over his chest. "So, I suggest you postpone your shower until we are finished talking."

Cloud frowned, but abided. Grabbing a fluffy towel from over the door, he wrapped it around himself and stepped from the shower stall. He hopped about from foot to foot as the flooring was cold, so Sephiroth ushered them into his conjoined room. Once on the plush carpeted floor, his feet were warm and he stopped resembling a bunny. Taking a pew on the bed, Cloud crossed his legs and watched as Sephiroth moved to sit in the bedside chair opposite him. With a tilt to his head, he gazed questioningly at his beloved. "Look, I really don't know why you're making such a big deal over some  _fake_  stuff I brought. I mean, what is—?"

"You know as well as I do that I do not believe that. They look are too well ...  **joined**  to you, to be false."

The blond paused, thinking quickly over his next move. One wrong slip and he would doom himself … "I really don't know what you mean. I mean, look—" He scooped up the end of a wing into his hands, suppressing the urge to twitch upon it being touched. "—this is fake! Faux feathers. I would never buy real stuff—"

Before he knew what had happened, Sephiroth had vanished from his line of sight and his wing from his grasp. Feeling other hands examining his – no,  **the**  – wings, he tensed, trying his best to diminish every sensation wanting to make it obvious that he could feel each and every poke, stroke and pull the General made to him. Turning his head on the spot, Cloud saw him studying it with great concentration, moving further and further along the length, until he reached a barrier preventing him from seeing the base – Cloud's fabulously convenient bath towel. Sephiroth gently took a hold of the huge fluffy towel covering Cloud, and expertly moved it out of his way to view the base of the "fake" wings. The skin around Cloud's shoulder blades look raw, speckles of dried blood coating the beginning of each wing.  _'This is far too realistic.'_

"Look, Seph, honestly, they are fa— _aaakkeee_ ~" Cloud shivered intently without control as Sephiroth ran a hand along the length of each wing, the sensations being far too much to bear, or even remotely conceal. The General looked shocked at the sudden puddle of Cloud goo underneath his touch and repeated his motion, drawing even more insinuating sounds from his companion. "Mmm! How are you  _doing_  that?"

"I stroked your wings, Cloud." A small, but very smug, smirk graced his tanned features. "I thought they were fake?"

Cloud's face dropped. He had completely blown it. "Well, aren't I a freaking genius?" He then sighed and retreated to lying back on the bed when Sephiroth patted it.

"Explain. No more diversions."

He looked at him. He was waiting expectantly for a sufficient answer. "Well, uh, I think there may have been something I should have told you sooner …" Silence greeted him so he took it as a sign to continue with his tale. "Well, when we were in Nibelheim, I wandered off with Zack for a little. We ran into an unusual monster—neither of us recognised it—and we decided to battle it. Well, Zack did. I just stood there and helped. When it died, it expelled some weird light that stuck on to me, and knocked me out in the process. Zack rushed me back and Angeal looked at me, but could find nothing wrong. I was thinking, it may or may not have had some weird side effect on me, as it looked like a disembodied angel." He finished his story quickly, breathing in deeply. Sephiroth just stared at him, eyes unblinking.  _'Oh dear. I know that look. I'm in trouble.'_

"Just when, Cloud, had you planned on telling me about something that could have killed you?"

He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I—uh … maybe, not anytime soon?"

The General sighed, shaking his head. "What am I going to do with you? You're a walking disaster. You could have been killed because your stubbornness refused to let you listen to me when I said stay inside. You've been unhealthy for the longest amount of time because you forced Zack into secrecy. You now have wings and we don't know if they could endanger your life or not, simply because you refused to tell me sooner."

Cloud dropped his gaze to the floor, embarrassed and slightly ashamed. "I'm sorry …"

Sephiroth sighed again, deeper. He folded his legs and gently pulled the Cadet to him, who cuddled to him instantly, snuggling affectionately. He allowed the embrace and returned it with his own affection, cuddling him close while lightly stroking damp blond strands. "No, Cloud, please do not be sad. I know you. You spared me the details as to not increase my concern. Though it was incredibly foolish—" He received a shy look. "—I thank you. You worried more for my health than your own."

"Well, of course I do," Cloud replied quietly, gazing away from Sephiroth shyly.

"Next time, just tell me. That way, I won't have the shock of a lifetime when waking next to you." Cloud purred lightly in agreement. "Furthermore, what are you going to do about—those?" The General motioned to the wings folded in against the smaller back.

Cloud frowned for a moment before his expression brightened dazzlingly with wonder. Sephiroth groaned inwardly; he knew that expression. It meant trouble. "I wonder if I can fly?"

* * *

#####  _. . . To be continued._


End file.
